Irish Apple Cake
A simple rubbed-in sponge packed with chunks of Bramley apple and topped with crunchy sugar, best served warm with custard.
AI assistance: the introduction, ingredient list, method, tips and FAQ on this page were drafted with an AI writing tool, working from long-established traditional methods. Named editor who reviewed it: owner to supply How we work
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 55 min
- Total
- 1 hr 15 min
- Makes
- 8 servings
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Course
- Cake
- Cuisine
- Irish
Every Irish family has an apple cake, made in autumn when the cooking apples come in. It is plain and homely: a butter-rich batter, lots of sharp Bramley apple and a crunchy sugar top.
Around Halloween it is sometimes baked with a coin or ring hidden inside, like a barmbrack.
Ingredients
- 225 g self-raising flour
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 110 g cold unsalted butter, cubed, plus a little for the tin
- 110 g caster sugar
- 2 Bramley apples, about 400 g, peeled, cored and cut into 1.5 cm chunks
- 2 eggs
- 4 tbsp milk
- 1 tbsp demerara sugar
Equipment
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- 20 cm deep round cake tinHow to chooseShop on Amazon(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
- Large mixing bowlHow to chooseShop on Amazon(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
- Digital kitchen scalesHow to chooseShop on Amazon(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)
Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / gas 4. Butter a 20 cm deep round cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
- 2
Mix the flour and cinnamon, then rub in the butter with your fingertips until it looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the caster sugar.
- 3
Add the apple chunks and toss to coat them in the mixture.
Photo: Daderot via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 - 4
Beat the eggs with the milk, pour into the bowl and stir until just combined. It makes a thick, lumpy batter.
- 5
Spoon into the tin, level the top and scatter with the demerara sugar. Bake for 50–60 minutes, until golden and a skewer pushed into the cake (not into an apple chunk) comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes.
Tips
Serve warm with custard, softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. It keeps for 2–3 days in a tin.
For another way with Bramleys, try apple crumble.
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Convert tin sizes
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Enter tin sizes between 5 and 60 cm.
If it goes wrong
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Soggy around the apples | Underbaked | Bake a little longer; cover with foil if the top browns too fast |
| Apples sank | Batter too wet | Add the milk a spoonful at a time; the batter should be stiff |
Guides for this recipe
Some of these guides contain shop links, which are affiliate links (disclosure).
Buying guide
How to Choose Sandwich Tins for Victoria Sponge
How-to
Essential Equipment for British Baking
Buying guide
Baking Trays and Bun Tins: What You Need
Buying guide
Springform and Deep Cake Tins: A Guide
Buying guide
Kitchen Scales for Baking: What to Look For
Buying guide
Mixing Bowls: Glass, Steel or Ceramic?
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Card photos: A round, deep cake tin, Douglas P Perkins via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0, cropped; Small cakes cooling on a wire rack, James Petts from London, England via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped; Mince pies baked in a bun tray, Jeremy Keith via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped; A strawberry pie in a springform tin, W.carter via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, cropped; A traditional mechanical kitchen scale, Berthold Werner via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Stacked cream-coloured ceramic mixing bowls, RLiverpool2021 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; A barmbrack cut open to show the dried fruit inside, Solo Beckett via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped; A triangle of griddled boxty potato pancake, さえぼー via Wikimedia Commons, CC0; A bowl of colcannon: mashed potato with kale, VegaTeam via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, cropped. All credits: image credits.